Improvement in railroad-signals



A. M. BODLEY. Q RAILROAD SIGNAL.

Patented JanQzs, 1e71,

NPETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRA WASHINGTON D C rtrrnn STATES PATENT QFFIOE.

ABRAM M. BODLEY, on NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT l N RAILROAD-SlGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 186,531, dated January'23, 1877; application filed January 10, 1877.

Be itknown that I, ABRAMM. BODLEY, of Newport, in the county ofCampbell, and in the State of Kentucky, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Railroad- Signals; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, making a part of thisspecification, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedapparatus as applied to ,a railway,

the full lines showing the position of parts when the target is exposed,and the dotted 7 lines the position when said parts are moved so as-touncover said target. Fig. 2 is a like view of-one of the levers employedfor operating the target-shields, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view ofone of the guides employed for confining in place and sustaining thewires used for connectingthe levers and target-shields.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures. i

The design of my invention is to enable the presence of a train upon acurve to be signaled to any desired point in advance, so as thereby toprevent a train Irom entering said curve from an opposite direction; towhich end it consists, principally, in themeansemployed for covering anduncovering'the signaltargets by the motion of passing trains,substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.

It consists, further, in the peculiar construction of theoperating-levers, by means of which they are permitted to flex or yieldin one di-- rection, substantially as and for the purpose hereinaftershown.

It consists, finally, in the means employed for guiding a'ndsupportingthe rods used for connecting the operating-levers to or with thetarget-shields, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter setforth.

In the annexeddrawing, A and A represent the rails of a railway,whichare supported,

in the usual manner, upon or by means of ties B. At a suitable pointnear each end of a curve, deep cut or other dangerous point upon theline, a target, 0, is secured in a vertical position at one side of thetrack, and is probe seen for a considerable distance during the day,while at night a light, colored or white,

is employed within said face. Upon the face side of the target 0 ispivoted a shield, D, which corresponds therewith in general size andshape, and is capable of being moved over or from said face, so as toconceal or expose the same by turning edgewise upon its pivotal bearing.It is intended thata train, when entering upon the section protected bythe signals, shall move the shield from over the target placed at theopposite end of said section, so as to warn the engineer of a trainapproaching from the opposite direction, and prevent him from proceedingfarther, while upon leaving said section said target is to be againcovered, so as to indicate that the track is clear. These results areaccomplished in along the side of the track to the second lever E, andis connected with the latter above its pivotal bearing, the arrangementbein g such as to cause said second lever E to be thrown rearwardwhen said first lever" E is moved forward, as shown by the full lines ofthe apparatus at the upper side of the track in Fig. 1, while by movingsaid second lever E forward, said first lever E will be returned to itsformer position, as shown by the apparatus at the lower side of thetrack in Fig. 1. From the lower end of the lever Ea rod, G, extendsrearward within suitable guides, and is either directly or by means of abar, H, connected with one arm of a bell-crank lever, I, that is pivotedupon a suitable support between the target and track, so as to move in ahorizontal plane, while the opposite arm of said bell-crank lever isconnected with the lower end of the shieldl) by means of a bar, K. Asthus arranged the forward movement of the first lever E will throw theupper-end of the second lever E rearward, and, through the mechanismdescribed, move the targetshield D away from the face of the target 0,while by moving said second lever E forward said first lever and saidtarget-shield will be returned to their normal positiohs. Each enginewill require an arm, which projects laterally and horizontally outwardto a suflicient distance to impinge against the operating-levers E and Eas said engine moves past the same, which arm may either be rigid orcapable of being withdrawn when not in use, as is desired.

To prevent injury to the levers E and E in case the engine is movedbackward until the tripping-arm comes into contact with their forwardedges, each of said levers is divided horizontally at a suitable pointbetween its pivotal bearing and upper end, and its sections hingedtogether, so as to permit the up per part to turn rearward, as shown bydotted lines of Fig. 2, but not to turn forward of its originalposition. To retain the hinged section of the lever in its normalposition a flat spring, 6, is secured at one end to or upon the forwardedge of the same, above its lower end, and from thence extends downwardagainst the forward edge of the lower section of said lever, where saidspring is loosely confined in position by means of a housing, 6, whichis attached to the latter. It, now, the hinged section of the lever E isturned rearward, the spring ewill be partially'withdrawn from itshousing, and will assumea curved form, and upon releasing said hingedsection said spring will resume its straight form, and by such operationwill return said section in place.

As the rod F will have considerable length, and will follow the curve ofthe track, the following-described means are employed for sustaining andguiding the same: A staple, L, constructed with a long and short arm, Iand 1, respectively, hasjournaled upon its long arm I a grooved roller,M, and between said roller and the end of said arm is loosely placed acollar, N. The staple is now placed over the rod F, the arms I and Ibeing horizontal, and the latter below, with said rod resting upon thegrooved roller M, after which said staple is driven into the end of atie, B, as seen in Fig. 3, in which position said staple furnishes asupport for said rolling bearing M, and also operates to confine saidrod in place, and to prevent accidental displacement.

Having thus fully setforth the nature and merits of my invention, what Iclaim as new is- 1. In combination with the target-shield D, pivotedupon the target O, and arranged to move before or away from its face 0,the levers E and E, pivoted at the side of the track, so as to be movedby passing trains, connected together by the rod F, and connected withsaid shield by means of the rod G, bar H, bell-crank lever I, and bar K,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The operating-lever E, divided transversely and hinged at the pointof division, and-provided with the spring e, which is se cured at oneend to the forward face of one section, and has its opposite endconfined loosely against the corresponding face of the remainingsection, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

3. As a means for sustaining the rod F, and confining the same inposition, the staple L, provided with .aglong and a short arm, I and 1,respectively, and driven horizontally into a tie or other suitablesupport, and the grooved roller M, journaled upon said arm 1', andfurnishing a rolling bearing for said rod, said parts being combined tooperate in the manner substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 8th day of January, 1877.

ABBAM MATTHEW BODLEY. \L. s.[

Attest:

CHAS. E. ALLEN, OLIVER N. Roo'r.

